History

1919

January 4- The great fire in Myersville occurred. This fire destroyed a large part of the businesses in town along with several residents’ homes. Citizens stood by with no means of fire protection. This upset the residents so that they began to look for ways to purchase some equipment to fight the fires.

1925

The Myersville Volunteer Fire Company was organized by the Town of Myersville, the actual business of the fire company would not get started for at least a couple of years.

1931

August 11- The Burgess and Council of Myersville were looking into purchasing a Chemical Engine to assist in firefighting.

September 14- The Burgess and Council asked the Independent Hose Company of Frederick to demonstrate a Chemical Engine for the benefit of the people of Myersville.

October 26- The Burgess with the consent of two of the Council members agreed to purchase an American LaFrance Fire Engine from Frederick E. Benson of Paterson, New Jersey for $390. F. Lowery of Myersville will be paid $50 to haul the truck to Myersville.

November 5- The fire company was officially organized.

November 19- A 1916 Model American LaFrance fire engine was delivered from Paterson, New Jersey. It was kept in John Horine’s shed first for $7.50 a year rent, then John “Tucker” Shank’s old creamery building, and finally the old school across from the fire hall.

1935

August 21- The fire company purchased the Central Trust Co. bank building on the corner of Main Street and Wolfsville Road for $2,150. An addition was built on the back to house the fire engine.

October 28- The fire company was incorporated as the Myersville Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. A siren was placed on the Lutheran Church steeple and later on the fire hall to alert the volunteers.

1936

A three-inch water main was run down the west side of Main Street and a six-inch main on the east side. Fire hydrants were also added to this line to aid in fighting fires.

1941

The fire company took over the “Homecoming Festival” in Myersville and the term was changed to Firemen’s Carnival, this was a huge community event.

August 7-8- The fire company hosted the 7^th Annual Frederick County Firemen’s Association Annual Convention in conjunction with the Homecoming.

October 22- The need for up to date fire equipment was realized so the fire company purchased a new 1941 Diamond T truck with an American LaFrance pump at a cost of $4,200. The truck had a 500-gpm pump and a 250-gallon tank. The fire company still owns the truck.

1951

Paul L. Hoffmaster president of the fire company for 1946 and 1952 was elected as the President of the Frederick County Firemen’s Association.

1957

March 5- The fire company bought 5.16 acres of land from the Potomac Edison Company for $4,000. The fire company saw a need for a new fire hall and community center.

1958

The fire company built a new fire hall and community center in it presents location for $45,000.

1960

The Ladies Auxiliary of the Myersville Volunteer Fire Company was established.

1961

There were 46 active members. The fire company ran a total of 19 calls that year.

1962

September 13- A new International truck with a 750 gpm Howe midship pump was purchased. It had a 500 gallon tank with two ¾” booster reels. The total cost of the truck with radio was $13,150

1967

February 2- The fire company voted to buy a new fire engine, prices were to be checked on a 300 and a 500-gallon truck. Butcherings were a big money maker for us! They were a lot of work but it paid off. Dues to the County Fire Association were only $6 and the dues to the Maryland State Firemen’s Association were $25, my how times change.

October 2- The fire company voted 28 yes, 10 no, 1 abstained to purchase the fire engine that the Truck Committee proposed.

October 14- Reed Motor, the Ford dealer in Middletown made a bid of $5,150.14 for a 1968 Ford F750 truck that would become our new fire engine. The total cost of the complete truck was $19,000. The fire company began looking into an ambulance service; there were several bids on Cadillac style ambulances. The dream of an ambulance would not be realized for several years.

1968

March- Ford Motor delivered the truck chassis to Maxim Corporation to begin the conversion into a fire engine.

March 4- The residents of Wolfsville began to show an interest in better fire protection for their area.

April 1- The Board of Directors brought a proposal to the fire company in regards to fire service in Wolfsville. The Wolfsville area needs to provide a heated building to house one fire engine and provide a siren to alert the volunteers. The Diamond T fire engine (still in MVFC possession) is to go to Wolfsville when the building is done. There will only be one Treasurer, one President, and one Chief between Myersville and Wolfsville. Wolfsville can have there own line officers. The new fire engine will be 81 and the Diamond T will be 211. The fire company approved this and the Wolfsville sub-station was born.

September 20- The Diamond T is delivered to Wolfsville. The fire company ran 40 calls for the year.

1969

January- Turnout gear costs $60 a set. The fire company ran 36 calls for the year. The fire company has three pumpers and one tanker truck.

March 28- This was a tragic day for the Myersville Volunteer Fire Company. Mr. J. Floyd Harp and Mr. Gaither R. Frushour, collided head-on enroute to a fire call, both were pronounce dead. These were our only Line of Duty deaths in company history. Both men were recognized for their service and the Maryland State Firemen’s Association paid their pensions to their respective family members.

April 7- A motion was passed to activate the house siren each Saturday at noon as a test. The idea of purchasing an ambulance was once again kicked around.

1970

March- Company voted to pay $1,000 to purchase a 1952 Ford Tank Truck from the Guardian Hose Company in Thurmont.

December- The fire company ran a total of 67 calls for the year.

1971

Talks began about buying a new fire engine for the Wolfsville sub-station. By the end of the year the fire company voted in favor of purchasing another Maxim pumper on an International chassis for a price of $19,082.92. There were signs of distention between the Myersville and Wolfsville stations, ideas were talked about to try and improve relations and open the lines of communication between the two companies.

1972

The members of the Myersville Volunteer Fire Company are looking into ways to expand the present fire hall which was built in 1958.

July 6- The new fire engine for Wolfsville arrived.

1973

The fire company joined the Frederick County Fire Police. Also that year a 1964 Ford Tank Truck was bought for Wolfsville, the fire company really began to grow.

1974

The siren was moved from the Post Office on the corner of Main Street and Wolfsville Road to the fire company. The company is again looking at an ambulance service this time at a cost of $15,000-$23,000.

June 3- A committee was formed to look into the idea of an ambulance service.

Oh, the good ole days, “there was a discussion on riding mini-bikes on the fire company grounds”. If only things were that easy today!

1975

May 8- The idea of re-establishing the Festival in Myersville was discussed, most members felt it was a good idea.

1976

February 25- The fire company approved funds to purchase supplies to outfit an ambulance

April 17- Ambulance Captain William Stine placed Ambulance 89 in service! The ambulance was housed at 309 Main Street until it went in service.

May- Work on the addition has begun. The company added two more bays to house the engines. The volunteers, at a great saving for the fire company, would do most of the work.

July 5- The fire company decided that all unit numbers on the doors of the fire engines or ambulance would represent the respective fire company, i.e., 81, 211.

1977

October- The fire company looked into the idea of buying a second ambulance to be used mainly for routines and stand-bys. This idea never made it to fruition, yet.

1978

August- Terry Lewis began discussions at the company meeting about splitting the Myersville and Wolfsville fire stations.

1979

February- The land for the current town park, between the fire company and apartment building, was donated to the Town of Myersville with the stipulation that the Town develops it into a park and that they will never sell it without fire company approval. The Festival in Myersville was stopped; members felt it was too much work for the little bit of money they were making.

September- Charles Martin headed a committee that was to look in the pros and cons of splitting the Myersville and Wolfsville fire stations. The committee decided and the company approved the split of the two stations! The equipment and buildings currently there were to stay in Wolfsville and there were to be no hard feelings only a mutual agreement to work together.

November- The Ladies Auxiliary split for a short time, the money left in the treasury was to be split equally between Myersville and Wolfsville.

1980

Brush 85 was placed in service. There were some drawings found that showed another building addition to allow room for a second ambulance, a third engine, and a tanker.

*Drawing found in the fire company minutes.

There were more discussions about replacing the ambulance.

1981

January- Mark Sexton became the new chief of the fire company, he remained chief for the next 17 years.

1982

April- The fire company voted to purchase a Road Rescue ambulance at a cost of $35,500. The Ladies Auxiliary was re-initiated and their work and dedication to the Myersville Fire Company was renewed. A new pumper fund began. The current units were beginning to deteriorate.

1983-1984

Some little things that are still around, the “Members Only” sign was made and donated to the fire company by Stanley Kline a long time woodworker in Myersville.

July 1983- The fire company bought a 1978 Dodge Power Wagon for $4,500 to be used as Brush 85.

The fire engines deteriorated, they failed pumps tests and they needed to be replaced! The company may possibly be placed out of service until the problems are repaired.

We were given a reprieve with the understanding that we get the units fixed or replaced. Mark Sexton and the fire company begin to look for funds to replace the fire engine. An emergency loan from the Maryland State Firemen’s Association allowed us to purchase a Ford 8000 chassis and a Grumman body with a 1000-gallon tank and a 1000 GPM pump.

1985

The Ford/Grumman was placed in service as Engine 81 to the delight of the company and Frederick County. All I can say is that this is still one of the BEST running and operating trucks in Frederick County. With the purchase of Engine 81 the fire company took a step in the right direction in updating and improving our fleet of trucks.

1989

January- The fire company elected a new president with Lew Dominick. We also replaced Ambulance 89 with a Ford/Collins ambulance off the Montgomery County bid.

April 24- A mountain fire on Braddock Mountain consumed 15-25 acres of brush, it took over 100 firefighters from many companies to contain and extinguish this exhausting fire. The fire was believed to have been started from a hot Catalytic Converter igniting leaves.

June 10- A 50-year-old man was killed when his plane slammed into the side of a hill on Harp Hill Road. Poor visibility from rain and fog were to blame.

December- The fire company ran 159 fire calls, Wayne Hinkle and Rick Breeze were the top responders. Paul Spangler was the Firefighter of the Year. There were 292 ambulance calls; Sue Davis was the top responder.

1990

Steve Miles began a smoke detector program. Hechinger’s donated 100 detectors and Bidle Brothers Excavating donated funds for 25 more. William Rinkinen took over as Ambulance Captain. The fire company began planning for a new fire engine, not sure if it would be an engine-tanker, rescue-engine, or tanker.

1991

February 17- Camp Skycroft Recreation Center burned. The building was fully involved upon our arrival.

August 24- A fire on Hollow Road destroyed a shed on a farm, no injuries were noted.

September 6- A jackknifed tractor-trailer on Westbound Interstate 70 had traffic shut down for over three (3) hours.

September 21- The fire company hosted its first Car Show, the funds raised from this event would go towards the new fire engine.

The fire company finally decided on a rescue-engine. This would be quite an upgrade, it was embarrassing responding to a call on the Interstate and only being able to drive 35 MPH with lights and sirens on, we caused more of a traffic problem than the call.

December- The fire company ran 149 fire calls, Mark Hinkle was the top responder. Wayne Hinkle was the Firefighter of the Year. We ran 236 ambulance calls, Sue Davis was the top responder for the 9^th year in a row.

1992

February 28- Rescue-Engine 82 was placed in service at a cost of $160,000. This unit featured enclosed seating for five (5) firefighters. Rear step riding was outlawed. It was deemed unsafe even though it was lots of fun.

June- Beginning in June, Frederick County lost three (3) dedicated officers. On June 30 the Braddock Heights fire company lost their Assistant Chief James Stavely to a heart attack during a call.

August 13 the Myersville Volunteer Fire Company lost a very dedicated young officer. Captain Wayne Hinkle was killed in a car accident just minutes from the fire company, this accident was extremely tough on the members who had to respond for one of their own. Also in August the New Midway Fire Company lost their chief, Richard Moser, to a heart attack.

December- The fire company responded to 193 fire calls, the top responder was Wayne Neal. The Firefighter of the Year was Lew Dominick. There were 258 ambulance calls with Sue Davis being the top responder once again.

1993

January- Raymond Hinkle was elected as the new president of the fire company.

March- A memorial display case was unveiled in honor of Wayne Hinkle.

Possibly the biggest EMT class got underway. 12 members of Myersville started this lengthy class.

December- There were 233 fire calls for 1993, Wayne Neal and Dave Eichelberger tied for top responder. Dave Eichelberger was named Firefighter of the Year. There were 285 ambulance calls with Sue Davis claiming the top responder spot again. We had several large fires that year. First we had a tractor trailer load of Perdue® chickens jump the curb at McDonald’s® and travel down an embankment and catch fire, what a bar-b-que. We also responded to Inwood, West Virginia for an extremely large tire fire.

1994

Chief Mark Sexton found a way to have a used (repoed) Ford F250 donated to the fire company from Myersville Bank. After several hours and some upgrades such as a 250-gallon tank and a 500-gpm pump the new Brush 85 was placed in service. This truck did the job for just a short time. Brush 85 was wrecked after performing a service call to pump out a basement due to the massive snowfall melting quickly. On the way back to the station the truck hit a patch of ice and hit a tree, no one was injured but the truck was totaled.

A committee was set up to begin looking at plans for a new Ambulance 89.

Once again the company was talking of a new and bigger fire hall to house all our apparatus and to upgrade the banquet facilities.

We ran 226 fire calls, Wayne Neal was the top responder and Firefighter of the Year. There were 288 ambulance calls with Sue Davis being the top responder. We suffered through probably our largest amount of fire loss ever with $515,000 in damages. Mark Sexton was presented a special award for being the chief for 15 years.

1995

March- We placed our new Road Rescue/International ambulance in service at a cost of $129,300. The larger style ambulance should last longer and serve us better.

October 16- We held our first annual Wayne E. Hinkle Memorial Golf Tournament.

Wayne Neal was the new Ambulance Captain. We ran 235 fire calls with Wayne Neal being the top responder, Marty Love was the Firefighter of the Year. There were 289 ambulance calls, Sue Davis was the top responder once again!

1996

We placed a new brush truck in service, a Ford F350 was bought and all other equipment was transferred to this truck.

Kyle Crutchley took over as Ambulance Captain. We ran 282 fire calls with Marty Love being the top responder and Daryl Love as the Firefighter of the Year. There were 344 ambulance calls, Sue Davis was the top responder for the 14th year in a row.

1997

Carroll Smith and Dennis Flook were honored at the Annual Banquet by County Commissioner Bruce Reeder for their 40 plus years of service to the Myersville Volunteer Fire Company.

There were 297 fire calls with Daryl Love being the top responder and Mark Hinkle as the Firefighter of the Year. There were 382 ambulance calls, the top responder was Gregg Lantz. Sue Davis had been the top responder from 1983-1996. Hey Gregg, she gave it to you.

1998

Dave Reese was the new Ambulance Captain, Marty Love was the new fire chief.

The fire company placed a 1998 Chevy Suburban in service as Utility 8, it will be used for a variety of jobs.

The fire company participated in the 250^th anniversary of Frederick County parade, Engine 81 carried the Maryland State Firemen’s Association Miss Fire Prevention 1^st Runner Up Amanda Kauffman through the parade. Wow it was a hot one!!

1999

September 16- The fire company applied to Frederick County to place daytime Career firefighters in the station to assist the volunteers with their ever-growing responsibilities for upkeep, calls, training etc. It was getting harder and harder to do it all.

The building committee is working hard to complete plans for a new fire hall. The committee looked into adding on to the existing hall.

2000

Celebrating our 75^th Anniversary!

January- The fire company survived the Y2K scare, no problems noted.

February- The fire company bought a new 2000 Dodge Durango for a Duty Car for the officers, it will be sent to Odyssey® for some work to convert it into a very useful tool for the officers and members of the fire company.